The city of Aurora has received a $2 million state grant to launch a program offering heating and air conditioning unit upgrades to rental properties with low- to moderate-income residents.
This program, which is something Aurora hasn’t really done before, is being looked at as a way to preserve affordable housing, according to Aurora Director of Community Services Chris Ragona. He said that utility bills play a part in whether or not housing is affordable for someone, so having a more energy-efficient HVAC system will reduce a person’s utility bills and, ultimately, their total housing cost.
The idea wasn’t catered specifically to Aurora, Ragona said, as the state of Illinois offered this grant for this type of program.
“We will have some guidance as far as our eligibility criteria and how we’re going to distribute the funds, but the idea of HVAC improvements for rental properties, that was the state,” he said.
Landlords, not residents, will be the ones applying for grants through the city’s program once it is up and running. However, landlords will need to ask their tenants for information about their income to quality.
Ragona said the full eligibility requirements are still in the works. However, a staff report about the program shows that it will be limited to city-licensed landlords and their properties with six or fewer units where at least half of the tenants are low- to moderate-income.
“Think of a family of four earning $95,000 a year,” Ragona said of the income requirement.
The program will provide qualifying landlords grants for partial or full HVAC system replacements, including any related electrical or plumbing work, according to the staff report. Funding will be available for around 100 to 150 rental units, staff said in the report.
Aurora is looking to launch the program in the first quarter of 2026, Ragona said. Policies, procedures and eligibility requirements still need to be designed, he said, and there will likely be an education campaign about the program for landlords and, potentially, also for tenants.
“It should be a win-win for everybody because the landlord is going to be getting brand new HVAC components and then the tenant is going to be getting a more efficient system, which will hopefully improve their quality of live and lower their utility bills,” he said.
At this point, city staff haven’t decided if they are going to run the program first-come, first-serve or if they will do a lottery similar to how the city’s small business assistance program was done back in 2020, according to Ragona. He said the lottery worked well and gave everyone the same deadline so those more familiar with computers or the application process didn’t get first dibs on what should be a grant for everyone.
The $2 million state grant coming to the city for the program is being funded through federal pandemic-era money, specifically the Community Development Block Grant – Coronavirus. Typically the city isn’t eligible for these types of funds, Ragona said, but it was for this program.
The Aurora City Council voted to apply for this grant around this time last year. Aurora’s application was accepted, and last week, the City Council voted to formally accept it.
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